CHARLOTTE, N.C. — U.S. passengers wanting to call home from 30,000 feet shouldn’t get their hopes up, even though a new study into foreign air carriers found no interference with cellphone use.

Congress asked the Federal Aviation Administration to study the effects of using cellphones on U.S. planes as part of the new aviation law passed earlier this year, and there were no reports of “air rage or flight attendant interference.”

But it won’t even be the FAA’s call if cellphones are ever allowed in the air, according to an agency spokeswoman who pointed to the Federal Communications Commission.

"The FCC is responsible for regulating cellphone issues in the United States. Since 1991, the FCC has restricted the in-flight use of cellphones in U.S. airspace because of potential interference with ground networks,” FAA’s Brie Sachse told POLITICO.

The FCC has not approved any U.S. carrier to install the “base stations” that some other countries use.

Sachse stressed the FAA is simply following an order from Congress. “In the 2012 reauthorization bill, Congress directed the FAA to complete a survey of foreign governments regarding the impact of in-flight cellphone use for voice communications in scheduled passenger service in countries where in-flight use of cellphones is currently allowed.”

The FAA released a draft study Wednesday that found foreign aviation authorities have permitted, in some cases, the use of cell phone stations aboard aircraft and that those organizations “reported no confirmed occurrences of cellphones affecting flight safety.”

Those aviation organizations, which range from regulators in Saudi Arabia to Malaysia to the United Kingdom, did note that some passengers quibbled with the price of airborne cellphone calls and had trouble identifying which planes were or weren’t equipped with the ability to place cellphone calls through phone base stations.

Most of the 11 non-U.S. authorities the FAA queried on allowing wireless devices while airborne have similar policies to the FAA, but some offer exemptions if it can be proven that the cellphone stations do not adversely affect ground networks. The study is now open for public comment and a final report on airborne cellphone use must be filed to congressional committees by Nov. 10.

The FAA also is separately examining airline policies on the use of portable electronic devices — explicitly excluding cellphone calls — to see whether more widespread use of those devices can be allowed during times such as takeoff and landing.

Burgess Everett reported on this story from Washington, D.C.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 3:23 p.m. on September 5, 2012.